Dust collector having vertical filters and a filter carriage

ABSTRACT

A dust collector including a housing including an upper wall, at least one housing wall defining an inlet, and one of the upper wall and the at least one housing wall defining an outlet; a separating plate connected above the inlet and below the outlet, and defining at least one aperture; at least one vertically extending filter connected to and extending below the plate, and fluidly communicating with the at least one aperture; at least one pipe connecting the at least one vertically extending filter to the plate and extending below the plate; at least one expandable sleeve surrounding the pipe, the pipe defining at least one side aperture fluidly communicating an interior of the pipe with a space between the pipe and the sleeve; and an air injector system fluidly communicating with the aperture for injecting air into the space through the aperture to expand the sleeve.

CROSS-REFERENCE

The present application is a divisional application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/520,648, filed on Apr. 20, 2017, which is aNational Phase Entry of International Patent ApplicationPCT/IB2015/058169, filed on Oct. 22, 2015. Through International PatentApplication PCT/IB2015/058169, the present application claims priorityto U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/067,067 filed on Oct. 22,2014. The entirety of the above applications is incorporated herein byreference.

FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY

The present technology relates to the field of dust collectors.

BACKGROUND

Dust collectors are used in a wide variety of industries to controlparticles and pollutants, including power plants, steel mills andpharmaceutical and chemical production facilities. These apparatusestake in air laden with dust or pollutant particles and produce afiltered air stream by forcing the air through filters. The filters usedin this type of air filter device include woven fabric filter bags,unwoven felt filter bags and filter cartridges.

In normal operation, the filters used in dust collectors will need to bereplaced regularly. The replacement of the filters can be a timeconsuming process. In order to replace the filters, the dust collectormust be shut down. In this case, the dust and pollutant producingprocess must also be stopped, or another dust collector apparatus mustbe run in replacement. Both solutions entail costs to the facility,either in the form of additional costs of maintaining supplemental dustcollectors or in decreased production when the facilities must be shutdown for the filter replacement.

In addition, the different filters in a dust collector may need to becleaned or replaced at different rates, depending on their positions inthe dust collector, thus creating a complicated replacement schedule forthe various filters. For example, filters nearer an air inlet may getdirtier faster than filters farther from the air inlet, leading to ahigher frequency of changing or cleaning the closer filters than thefarther filters. Further complicating matters, the dust to be filteredout of the air may be of various particle sizes, and may be dry or moistdepending on the facilities in which it is being used. Moist dustparticles can cake onto the filter surfaces, causing an increase in thefrequency of replacement necessary for the filters, especially thosenearer the intake.

SUMMARY

It is an object of the present invention to ameliorate at least some ofthe inconveniences present in the prior art.

According to a first broad aspect of the present technology, there isprovided dust collector comprising a housing including an upper wall, atleast one housing wall connected to the upper wall, the at least onehousing wall defining an inlet, and one of the upper wall and the atleast one housing wall defining an outlet; a separating plate connectedto the housing above the inlet and below the outlet, the separatingplate defining at least one aperture; and at least one verticallyextending filter connected to and extending below the separating plate,the at least one vertically extending filter fluidly communicating withthe at least one aperture, a center line of the inlet extending above atop portion of the at least one vertically extending filter.

In some implementations of the present technology, the top portion ofthe at least one vertically extending filter is disposed at or below abottom portion of the inlet.

In some implementations of the present technology, the dust collectorfurther comprises at least one pipe connecting the at least onevertically extending filter to the separating plate, the at least onepipe extending below the separating plate.

In some implementations of the present technology, the dust collectorfurther comprises at least one sealing ring being disposed between a topportion of the at least one vertically extending filter and a bottomportion of the at least one pipe.

In some implementations of the present technology, a top portion of theat least one pipe passes through the at least one aperture and extendsabove the separating plate.

In some implementations of the present technology, the dust collectorfurther comprises at least one expandable sleeve surrounding the atleast one pipe, the at least one pipe defining at least one sideaperture fluidly communicating an interior of the at least one pipe witha space between the at least one pipe and at least one expandable sleeveand an air injector system fluidly communicating with the at least oneaperture for injecting air into the space through the at least oneaperture to expand the sleeve.

In some implementations of the present technology, the inlet is arrangedsubstantially opposite the outlet.

In some implementations of the present technology, the inlet and theoutlet are arranged at substantially a same height.

In some implementations of the present technology, the separating plateis arranged diagonally within the housing, the separating plateextending downward as the separating plate extends away from the inlet.

In some implementations of the present technology, the at least onehousing wall includes a front wall connected to the upper wall, thefront wall defining the inlet; a back wall connected to the upper walland being opposite the front wall, the back wall defining the outlet andtwo side walls connected to and extending between the front wall and theback wall, the side walls being connected to the upper wall.

In some implementations of the present technology, the dust collectorfurther comprises a dust collection unit connected to a bottom portionof the at least one housing wall; and a dust collection unit opening ina lower portion of the dust collection unit.

In some implementations of the present technology, the dust collectorfurther comprises an air injection system, the air injection systemincluding at least one air injection nozzle being aligned with the atleast one aperture for supplying compressed air inside the at least onevertically extending filter and a compressed air reservoir fordelivering air to the at least one air injection nozzle.

In some implementations of the present technology, air laden with dustparticles enters via the inlet; the air laden with dust particles flowsgenerally vertically downward from the inlet; the air passes through theat least one vertically extending filter and then through the at leastone aperture in the separating plate; the dust particles gather on theat least one vertically extending filter or fall into a dust collectionunit connected to a bottom portion of the at least one housing wall; andfrom the at least one aperture, the air exits the housing of the dustcollector via the outlet.

In some implementations of the present technology, the at least oneaperture includes a first row of first apertures, a second row of secondapertures, and the first row and the second row are substantiallyparallel, the first apertures are staggered with respect to the secondapertures; and wherein the at least one vertically extending filter is aplurality of vertically extending filters, each of the plurality offilters fluidly communicates with a corresponding one of the first andsecond apertures.

In some implementations of the present technology, the first row and thesecond row are substantially orthogonal to a direction of air flowentering the dust collector via the inlet.

In some implementations of the present technology, the dust collectorfurther comprises a plurality of pipes connecting the plurality ofvertically extended filters to the separating plate, the plurality ofpipes extending below the separating plate, the plurality of pipesfluidly communicating with a corresponding one of the first and secondapertures; and wherein air laden with dust particles enters via theinlet, the air laden with dust particles flows generally verticallydownward from the inlet, the air laden with dust particles impacts on atleast one of the plurality of pipes due to a staggered configuration ofthe plurality of pipes, the air passes through at least one of theplurality of vertically extending filters and then through at least oneof the first and second apertures in the separating plate, the dustparticles gather on the at least one of the plurality of verticallyextending filters or fall into a dust collection unit connected to abottom portion of the at least one housing wall, and from the at leastone of the first and second apertures, the air exits the housing of thedust collector via the outlet.

According to another broad aspect of the present technology, there isprovided a removable filter system for a dust collector, comprising acarriage base; a filter carriage being movably connected to the carriagebase; at least one filter support connected to a top portion of thefilter carriage; at least one filter removably connected to the filtercarriage by the at least one filter support; the filter carriage beingmovable between at least a first position, a second position and a thirdposition relative to the carriage base: in the first position the filtercarriage positions the at least one filter in an operational location inthe dust collector, in the second position the filter carriage positionsthe at least one filter vertically lower with respect to the carriagebase, the at least one filter being inside the dust collector, and inthe third position the filter carriage and the at least one filter beingoutside the dust collector.

According to yet another broad aspect of the present technology, thereis provided a method for replacing a filter in a dust collector, themethod comprising accessing a filter carriage, at least one filter beingconnected to the filter carriage and being disposed inside a dustcollector housing of the dust collector; lowering the filter carriage,the at least one filter being lowered with the filter carriage;translating the filter carriage out of the dust collector housing withthe at least one filter; removing the at least one filter from thefilter carriage; placing at least one other filter on the filtercarriage; translating the filter carriage into the dust collectorhousing with the at least one other filter; and raising the filtercarriage to lock the at least one other filter into an operationallocation.

According to yet another broad aspect of the present technology, thereis provided a dust collector comprising a plate defining at least oneaperture; at least one housing wall connected to the plate, the at leastone housing wall defining an inlet; an access door disposed in the atleast one housing wall; at least one vertically extending filter, a topportion of the at least one vertically extending filter being connectedto and extending below the plate, the at least one vertically extendingfilter fluidly communicating with the at least one aperture; at leastone carriage base; at least one filter carriage being movably connectedto the at least one carriage base; at least one filter support connectedto a top portion of the at least one filter carriage; the at least onevertically extending filter being connected to the at least one filtercarriage by the at least one filter support; the at least one filtercarriage being movable between at least a first position, a secondposition and a third position relative to the carriage base: in thefirst position, the at least one filter carriage positions the at leastone vertically extending filter in an operational location in the dustcollector, in the second position, the at least one filter carriagepositions the at least one vertically extending filter vertically lowerwith respect to the at least one carriage base, the at least one filterbeing inside the dust collector, and in the third position, the at leastone filter carriage and the at least one vertically extending filterbeing outside the dust collector.

In some implementations of the present technology, the at least onehousing wall further defines an outlet, and the inlet and the outlet arearranged at substantially a same height.

In some implementations of the present technology, the plate is arrangeddiagonally within the housing, the separating plate extending downwardas the separating plate extends away from the inlet.

In some implementations of the present technology, air laden with dustparticles enters via the inlet; the air laden with dust particles flowsinto the dust collector from the inlet; the air passes through the atleast one vertically extending filter and then through the at least oneaperture in the plate; the dust particles gather on the at least onevertically extending filter or fall into a dust collection unitconnected to a bottom portion of the at least one housing wall; and fromthe at least one aperture, the air exits the housing of the dustcollector via an outlet.

In some implementations of the present technology, the dust collectorfurther comprises at least one pipe connecting the at least onevertically extending filter to the plate, the at least one pipeextending below the plate.

In some implementations of the present technology, the dust collectorfurther comprises at least one sealing ring being disposed between a topportion of the at least one vertically extending filter and a bottomportion of the at least one pipe.

In some implementations of the present technology, a top portion of theat least one pipe passes through the at least one aperture and extendsabove the separating plate.

In some implementations of the present technology, the dust collectorfurther comprises at least one expandable sleeve surrounding the atleast one pipe; the at least one pipe defining at least one sideaperture fluidly communicating an interior of the at least one pipe witha space between the at least one pipe and at least one expandablesleeve; and an air injector system fluidly communicating with the atleast one aperture for injecting air into the space through the at leastone aperture to expand the sleeve.

According to yet another broad aspect of the present technology, thereis provided a dust collector including a housing including an upperwall, at least one housing wall connected to the upper wall, the atleast one housing wall defining an inlet, and one of the upper wall andthe at least one housing wall defining an outlet; a separating plateconnected to the housing above the inlet and below the outlet, theseparating plate defining at least one aperture; at least one verticallyextending filter connected to and extending below the separating plate,the at least one vertically extending filter fluidly communicating withthe at least one aperture, a center line of the inlet extending above atop portion of the at least one vertically extending filter; at leastone pipe connecting the at least one vertically extending filter to theseparating plate, the at least one pipe extending below the separatingplate; at least one expandable sleeve surrounding the at least one pipe,the at least one pipe defining at least one side aperture fluidlycommunicating an interior of the at least one pipe with a space betweenthe at least one pipe and the at least one expandable sleeve; and an airinjector system fluidly communicating with the at least one aperture forinjecting air into the space through the at least one aperture to expandthe sleeve.

In some implementations of the present technology, the top portion ofthe at least one vertically extending filter is disposed at or below abottom portion of the inlet.

In some implementations of the present technology, the dust collectorfurther includes at least one sealing ring being disposed between a topportion of the at least one vertically extending filter and a bottomportion of the at least one pipe.

In some implementations of the present technology, a top portion of theat least one pipe passes through the at least one aperture and extendsabove the separating plate.

In some implementations of the present technology, the inlet is arrangedsubstantially opposite the outlet.

In some implementations of the present technology, the inlet and theoutlet are arranged at substantially a same height.

In some implementations of the present technology, the separating plateis arranged diagonally within the housing, the separating plateextending downward as the separating plate extends away from the inlet.

In some implementations of the present technology, the at least onehousing wall includes: a front wall connected to the upper wall, thefront wall defining the inlet; a back wall connected to the upper walland being opposite the front wall, the back wall defining the outlet;and two side walls connected to and extending between the front wall andthe back wall, the side walls being connected to the upper wall.

In some implementations of the present technology, the air injectionsystem includes: at least one air injection nozzle being aligned withthe at least one aperture, the at least one air nozzle being adapted forsupplying compressed air inside the at least one vertically extendingfilter via the at least one aperture; and a compressed air reservoir fordelivering air to the at least one air injection nozzle.

In some implementations of the present technology, the dust collectorfurther includes a dust collection unit connected to a bottom portion ofthe at least one housing wall; and a dust collection unit opening in alower portion of the dust collection unit.

In some implementations of the present technology, air laden with dustparticles enters via the inlet; the air laden with dust particles flowsgenerally vertically downward from the inlet; the air passes through theat least one vertically extending filter and then through the at leastone aperture in the separating plate; the dust particles gather on theat least one vertically extending filter or fall into the dustcollection unit connected to the bottom portion of the at least onehousing wall; and from the at least one aperture, the air exits thehousing of the dust collector via the outlet.

In some implementations of the present technology, the at least oneaperture includes: a first row of first apertures, a second row ofsecond apertures, and the first row and the second row are substantiallyparallel, the first apertures are staggered with respect to the secondapertures; and the at least one vertically extending filter is aplurality of vertically extending filters, each of the plurality offilters fluidly communicates with a corresponding one of the first andsecond apertures.

For purposes of this application, terms related to spatial orientationare defined with respect to the standard operational orientation of thedust collector. Specifically, vertical is meant to represent a directiongenerally orthogonal to the ground upon which the apparatus rests whenoriented in its standard operational orientation.

Implementations of the present technology each have at least one of theabove-mentioned object and/or aspects, but do not necessarily have allof them. It should be understood that some aspects of the presentinvention that have resulted from attempting to attain theabove-mentioned object may not satisfy this object and/or may satisfyother objects not specifically recited herein.

Should there be contradictions between the definitions of terms providedin documents incorporated herein by reference and definitions of suchterms provided in the present application, the definitions in thepresent application prevail.

Additional and/or alternative features, aspects and advantages ofimplementations of the present technology will become apparent from thefollowing description, the accompanying drawings and the appendedclaims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the present technology, as well as otheraspects and further features thereof, reference is made to the followingdescription which is to be used in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, where:

FIG. 1 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a dust collector, accordingto an implementation of the present technology;

FIG. 2 is a schematic drawing of the air flow directions in the dustcollector of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the dust collector of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the dust collector of FIG. 1, with thehousing removed;

FIG. 5 is a view of an inlet side of the dust collector of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a view of an outlet side of the dust collector of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the dust collector of FIG. 1 with the upperwall and air injection system removed;

FIG. 8 illustrates an upper part of the dust collector of FIG. 1 withsome parts of the housing removed and with the removable filter systemsin various positions;

FIG. 9 is another view of the removable filter systems of the dustcollector of FIG. 1;

FIG. 10A is an isolated, perspective view of the removable filter systemin an operational position;

FIG. 10B is an isolated, perspective view of the removable filter systemin a lowered position;

FIG. 10C is an isolated, perspective view of the removable filter systemin an extended position;

FIG. 11A is an isolated, cross-sectional view of the removable filtersystem in an operational position;

FIG. 11B is an isolated, cross-sectional view of the removable filtersystem in a lowered position;

FIG. 11C is an isolated, cross-sectional view of the removable filtersystem in an extended position;

FIG. 12A is a schematic drawing of a filter, pipe and sleevecombination, according to another implementation of the presenttechnology;

FIG. 12B is a schematic drawing of the filter, pipe and sleeve of FIG.12A, with the sleeve inflated;

FIG. 13 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a dust collector,according to another implementation of the present technology;

FIG. 14 is a top plan view of the dust collector of FIG. 13 with theupper wall and air injection system removed; and

FIG. 15 is a schematic drawing of the air flow directions in the dustcollector of FIG. 13.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present detailed description is intended to be only a description ofillustrative examples of the present technology. The followingdescription relates to ways of manufacturing and designing a dustcollector and a removable filter system for a dust collector. Other waysof manufacturing and designing a dust collector and a removable filtersystem for a dust collector are contemplated and this technology wouldencompass these other known ways and designs.

A dust collector 100 according to an implementation of the presenttechnology will be described with respect to FIGS. 1 to 7.

The dust collector 100 has a housing 5 surrounding the innerconstituents. The housing 5 has an inlet 10 defined by a front wall 61to allow air laden with dust particles to enter the dust collector 100into an intake chamber 12 and an outlet 20 defined by a back wall 63 toallow filtered air to exit the dust collector 100 from an exhaustchamber 14. Two side walls 62 extending between and connecting to thefront wall 61 and the back wall 63 complete the top portion of thehousing 5, along with an upper wall 7 connected to the top of the fourwalls 61, 62, 62, and 63. In one of the side walls 62, there is anaccess door 55 allowing operator access to the interior of the housing5. It is contemplated that the housing 5 could be of any shape and becomposed of any number of walls, including one vertical wall in acylindrical shape attached to the upper wall 7.

A dust collection unit 60 is connected to the bottom of the housing 5.There is a dust collection unit opening 65 in the bottom portion of thedust collection unit 60 so that dust that has been collected can beremoved from the dust collector 100. In this implementation, the dustcollection unit 60 is in the form of a funnel shaped hopper, thoughother forms are contemplated by the present technology.

In this implementation, the inlet 10 and the outlet 20 are arranged onopposite walls and at substantially the same height, as is best seen inFIG. 1. It is contemplated that in other implementations that the inlet10 and outlet 20 could be on neighboring walls, or on the upper wall 7and at various relative heights. Similarly the access door 55 is notrestricted to a side wall 62, and may be located on any wall desired fora given implementation, or may be omitted entirely.

The inlet 10 is rectangular, as best seen in FIG. 5, but this is asingle example of the size and form possible. It is contemplated thatthe inlet 10 could be of any shape and size that retains thefunctionality of allowing an adequate air flow into the intake chamber12 within the dust collector housing 5. As best seen in FIG. 6, theoutlet 20 is also rectangular but may be of any size or shape thatallows for adequate flow of filtered air out of the exhaust chamber 14.

Inside the housing 5 of the dust collector 100, there is a separatingplate 30 secured to the interior of the housing 5 for separating theintake chamber 12 from the exhaust chamber 14. The separating plate 30is connected above the inlet 10 on the front wall 61 and below theoutlet 20 on the back wall 63. Because the inlet 10 and the outlet 20are at substantially the same height and arranged on opposite walls, theseparating plate 30 extends diagonally across the interior of thehousing 5 and creates an angled separation between the intake chamber 12and the exhaust chamber 14. The specific angle at which the separatingplate 30 is arranged will vary by implementation. It is contemplatedthat it may range from horizontal up to nearly vertical, depending onthe application and the dimensions of the housing 5.

In the separating plate 30, there are eight round apertures 32 toprovide a conduit between the two chambers 12, 14. It is contemplatedthat more or less than eight, including a single aperture 32 may beused. The size and shape of the apertures 32 is also not restricted tothe circular form of the current implementation and it is contemplatedthat the size and shape may vary with different implementations.

Attached to and passing though the apertures 32 are an equal number ofgenerally cylindrical pipes 45. The top portion of each pipe 45 extendspast the separating plate 30 into the exhaust chamber 14. The top edgeof each pipe 45 is angled to be substantially parallel to the separatingplate 30, giving each aperture 32 a direct line of sight with the outlet20, as is best seen in FIG. 6. It is contemplated that the angle andshape of the portion of the pipes 45 passing the separating plate 30could vary. It is also contemplated that the pipes 45 could end flushwith the separating plate 30 in different implementations.

The pipes 45 attached to and extending through the separating plate 30also extend down into the intake chamber 12. The bottom portion of eachpipe 45 is flared outward. The size and shape of the pipes 45 is alsonot restricted to the cylindrical form of the current implementation andit is contemplated that the size and shape may vary with differentimplementations, including to be matched to the size and shape of theaperture 32 in a given implementation.

In the bottom flared portion of each pipe 45 a vertically extendingfilter 40 is connected. A sealing ring 44 is positioned on each filter40 to be pressed between each pipe 45 and each filter 40, to create aseal between the two when the pipe 45 and the filter 40 are connectedtogether in an operational position. It is contemplated that the sealingring 44 may alternatively be connected to the pipe 45, or that thesealing ring 44 be omitted and another mechanism may be used to preventair flow from the intake chamber 12 into the pipe 45. Because theseparating plate 30 is arranged such that it is diagonal across theinterior of the housing 5, the pipes 45 nearer the inlet 10 are longerthan the pipes nearer the outlet 20 such that the filters 40 are all thesame length.

A vertically extending filter 40 is a filtering device which allows thepassage of air through and traps dust particles in its side surfaces.These side surfaces are vertically oriented and generally orthogonal tothe ground upon which the dust collector 100 is placed, as is best seenin FIG. 4. The filtering device is made of a pleated fibrous materialarranged to form a cylinder in the implementation shown, as representedby the repeating lines on the filters 40 in FIGS. 1 and 4. The openingallowing the filtered air to exit from the center of the verticallyextending filter 40 is located at the top of each filter 40, whichallows the filtered air to pass into the corresponding pipe 45. It iscontemplated that any filter 40 with a filtering surface extendingvertically with an opening at the top could be compatible with thepresent technology, including but not limited to: pleated nonwovencartridges, cylindrical woven fabric bag filters and cylindrical feltedfabric bag filters.

While in this implementation, pipes 45 are used to operationally connectthe filters 40 to the separating plate 30, it is contemplated that inother implementations, different methods could be used. In someimplementations, the pipes 45 could be omitted and the filters 40 couldabut the separating plate 30 at the apertures 32 directly. It iscontemplated that dust collector 100 could also be designed to usefilters 40 of various sizes and the lengths and that the pipes 45 wouldbe reconfigured to accommodate those filters 40.

The lengths of the pipes 45 connecting the filters 40 to the separatingplate 30 are selected such that a center line 11 of the inlet 10 extendsabove tops of the filters 40. In this implementation, the top portions41 of the filters 40 are at or below the inlet 10. This provides asurface for incoming air laden with dust particles entering from theinlet 10 to impact, specifically the pipes 45, rather than arrivingincident directly on the filters 40. This aids in avoiding the problemof saturating the filters 40 with dust that might otherwise fall intothe dust collection unit 60. For the case of moist dust being carried bythe air, initial incidence on the pipes 45 instead of the filters 40prevents caking of the wet dust on the filters. By impacting on thepipes 45 first, some dust particles fall down into the dust collectionunit 60 or become caked on the surface of pipe 45. In either case, thereis less dust on the filters 40, which extends the lifetime betweencleanings or replacement of the filters 40. This is best seen in FIG. 5,where the filters 45 are not visible directly in line with the inlet 10.

In FIG. 7, the arrangement of the eight apertures 32 in the separatingplate 30 of the dust collector 100 is illustrated. As air flows throughthe dust collector 100 (as described below), some air flowing into theintake chamber 12 will encounter a first row 33 of three pipes 45associated with the first row 33 of the three apertures 32 and bedirected downward or around those pipes 45. Some air will pass betweenthe pipes 45 of the first row 33, but it will encounter the two pipes 45of a second row 34, due to the staggered arrangement between the first33 and second 34 rows of apertures 32 and their corresponding pipes 45.In this implementation, there is a third row 35 of three apertures 32staggered with respect to the second row 34 as well, which willintercept air that has been diverted by the first two rows 33, 34 but isstill flowing toward the back wall 63.

This staggered arrangement of the inlet 10, the separating plate 30, theapertures 32 and the pipes 45 prevents the direct flow of incoming airtoward the back wall 63, which aids in a more even distribution of airflow within the housing 5. A more even air flow through the interior ofthe dust collector 100 more evenly distributes the filtering done by thefilters 40, decreasing the difference in frequency at which variousfilters 40 need to be cleaned or replaced. In some implementations,additional impediments 31, shown in dashed lines in FIG. 7, may be addedto disrupt the air flow along the side walls 62. Here two impediments 31may be added to row 34, where there are only two apertures 32 and twopipes 45 to intercept the air flowing around the three apertures 32 andpipes 45 of row 33.

It is contemplated that the separating plate 30 may contain more or lessthan three rows of apertures 32, and each row may be composed of more orless than three apertures 32. The exact pattern of staggering betweenthe rows may also vary for differing implementations.

To better understand the overall air flow path through the dustcollector 100, arrows representing the various possible directions ofair flow are shown schematically in FIG. 2, superimposed on a simplifiedcross-section of the dust collector 100 of FIG. 1. A blower or fan (notshown) is operationally connected to the dust collector 100 to induceair flow through the apparatus. It may be external to the dust collector100, or built into the dust collector 100, depending on theimplementation.

Air laden with dust particles enters the dust collector 100 through theinlet 10 in the front wall 61 into the intake chamber 12. As the air anddust enter the intake chamber 12, some will encounter the first row 33of pipes 45, directing that air generally downward or around the firstrow 33 of pipes 45. At this point some of the dust may cake onto thesurfaces of the pipes 45 facing the inlet 10. As the filters 40 arearranged such that a top portion 41 of each filter 40 is at or below theintake 10, air and dust from the inlet 10 will generally impact thepipes 45 and not directly the filters 40. Some of the air entering theinlet 10 nearer the upper housing wall 7 will encounter the separatingplate 30 which will direct the air generally downward as well, due tothe diagonal arrangement of the separating plate 30.

Some of the air will pass between the pipes 45 of the first row 33,represented by the dotted arrows. Some of this air will impact thesecond row 34 of pipes 45, with some of the dust caking onto the pipes45. Some of the air will be directed downward and some will be directedaround the pipes 45 of the second row 34, toward the third row 35 ofpipes 45.

As the air flows generally downward and around the pipes 45 and thefilters 40, some dust will fall out of the air and fall down into thedust collection unit 60, as represented by the dashed arrows. In orderfor air to pass from the intake chamber 12 to the exhaust chamber 14,the air and dust particles must pass through one of the filters 40 toarrive to the apertures 32 in the separating plate 30. Dust particles,the exact proportion of which depends on the efficacy of the filter 40used, will then be trapped in the filter. Air passing through thefilters 40 is then referred to as filtered air.

The staggered rows 33, 34, 35 of pipes 45 and the diagonal arrangementof the separating plate 30 direct the incoming air and dust to bedistributed generally throughout the intake chamber 12. As such, airpassing through the filters 40 in order to exit the intake chamber 12will be distributed among all the filters 40 throughout the intakechamber 12. As such, filters 40 connected to the pipes 45 of the firstrow 33 will not necessarily filter more air than the filters 40connected to the pipes 45 of the second or third rows 34, 35.

An opening allowing the filtered air to exit from the center of thevertically extending filter 40 is located at the top portion 41 of thefilter 40, which allows the filtered air to pass into the pipe 45 andflow through the aperture 32 into the exhaust chamber 14. The seals 44between the pipes 45 and the filters 40 ensure that only filtered airhaving passed through any filter 40 may enter the pipe 45 and passthrough the aperture 32 into the exhaust chamber 14.

The filtered air arrives in the exhaust chamber 14, exiting theapertures 32 at different heights due to the angled arrangement of theseparating plate 30. The upper housing wall 7 assists in redirecting thegenerally upward moving air back to a horizontal motion, allowing thefiltered air to then exit the exhaust chamber 14 via the outlet 20 inthe back wall 63. The angled top portions of the pipes 45 extending pastthe separating plate 30, as described above and seen in FIG. 5, alsoassist in directing the filtered air toward the outlet 20.

An air injection system 70, as best seen in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, isinstalled on the dust collector 100 to provide a modality to clean aportion of the dust from the filters 40 without having to remove themfrom the housing 5. A compressed air reservoir 71 supplies compressedair to eight air injection nozzles 75, filled by an air compressor (notshown). Each air injection nozzle 75 is aligned with an aperture 32 toprovide compressed air to each pipe 45. When the dust collector 100 isnot in operation, an operator can send compressed air from the airinjection system 70 through the pipe 45 to each filter 40, the airpushing out through the filter 40 in the opposite direction of theoperational air flow. This reverse air flow forces at least some of thedust in the filter 40 back out into the intake chamber 12. The dislodgeddust then falls down into the dust collection unit 60. Not everyimplementation of the dust collector 100 need have an air injectionsystem 70 and it is contemplated that a dust collector 100 according toa different implementation of the present technology may omit the airinjection system 70. It is also contemplated that is someimplementations there could be fewer air injection nozzles 75 thanapertures 32.

Three removable filter systems 201, 202, 203 are provided in the dustcollector 100 to enable replacement of the filters 40, which areaccessible to an operator through the access door 55 in one of the sidewalls 62. As systems 201, 202 are similar to 203, only 203 will bedescribed in detail below; various views of the removable filter system203 are presented in FIGS. 4 and 8 to 11C, which will be referred toconcurrently in the description to follow.

A removable filter system 203 has a filter carriage 50 movably connectedto a carriage base 51, as is seen in FIGS. 10A to 10C. The filtercarriage 50 slides horizontally with respect to the carriage base 51,but it is contemplated that the translation mechanism between the filtercarriage 50 and the carriage base 51 could include, but is not limitedto, rails, wheels, rollers and pistons.

Connected to the top of the filter carriage 50 are three filter supports53 for holding the filters 40. In this implementation, the filtersupports 53 are rings that hold the bottom part of the filters 40, butvarious mechanisms for supporting the filters 40 are contemplated,including but not limited to: a twist-on mechanism, clips, snaps, andhooks. Depending on the number of filters 40 in a row as arranged in thedust collector 100, the number of filter supports 53 will vary. It iscontemplated that as few as one filter support 53 could be included, aswell as two, three or more filter supports 53 depending on theimplementation.

In order to connect the filters 40 into the bottom flared portions ofthe pipes 45 such that they are in an operational position, the filtercarriage 50, along with the corresponding filter supports 53 and theconnected filters 40, is lifted with respect to the carriage base 51, asshown in FIGS. 10A and 11A. In order to slide the filter carriage 50with respect to the carriage base 51, the filter carriage 50 must belowered out of the operational position. To do this, three pairs of cams54 are rotated to lift and lower the filter carriage 50, as can be seenin dashed lines in FIGS. 11A to 11C where three different positions ofthe filter carriage 50 are displayed. It is contemplated that more orless than three pairs of cams 54 could be used in the raising andlowering mechanism. It is also contemplated that other mechanisms couldbe used to raise and lower the filter carriage 50 with respect to thecarriage base 51.

A lever 52 attached to a relay bar 56 is used to rotate the cams 54.When the lever 52 is substantially vertically aligned, the cams 54 arepulled upright by the relay bar 56. The cams 54 being pulled upright inturn push the filter carriage 50 upward, which is guided into theoperational position by a pin 58 of the filter carriage 50 received in alocking slot 57 on each side of the filter carriage 50. In addition, theaccess door 55 may only be closed when the lever 52 is substantiallyvertically aligned, such that the filters 40 are ensured to be in anoperational position in order for the access door 55 to be closed.

When the lever 52 is moved to a substantially horizontal position, thecams 54 are also turned to a substantially horizontal position by therelay bar 56 which in turn lowers the filter carriage 50 with respect tothe carriage base 51, guided again by the locking slot 57, as shown inFIGS. 10B and 11B. In this position, the filters 40 are no longer in anoperational position, and the lowered lever 52 blocks the access door 55from closing. When the removable filter system 203 is installed in adust collector 100 and in this position, the filter carriage 50 and itscorresponding filters 40 are still inside the housing 5 but are ready tobe translated out of the dust collector 100, as the filters 40 may passunder the pipes 45 without obstruction.

Having lowered the filters 40 with the filter carriage 50, the filtercarriage 50 may then be translated horizontally, as shown in FIGS. 10Cand 11C. When the removable filter system 203 is installed in a dustcollector 100, as seen in FIGS. 8 and 9, translating the filter carriage50 horizontally in turn translates the filters 40 out of the housing 5.In this position, all the filters 40 on a given filter carriage 50 areaccessible and may be removed for cleaning, be repaired, inspected, orreplaced with a different filter 40. Other and intermediate positions ofthe filter carriage 50 are contemplated, depending on the number offilters 40 that the operator desires access to or depending on thespecific implementation of the dust collector 100 in which the removablefilter system 203 is installed.

A method for replacing a filter 40 in a dust collector 100 will beexplained in reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. The method begins by accessingthe filter carriage 50 and its attached filter or filters 40. In thedust collector 100, this is done by opening the access door 55. Uponopening the access door 55, the filter carriage 50 will be in theposition shown by removable filter system 202, as seen in FIG. 8. Themethod continues by lowering the filter carriage 50 and its associatedfilters 40 to a lowered position within the dust collector 100, shown byremovable filter system 203 in FIG. 8. The next step is translating thefilter carriage 50 with respect to the carriage base 51 out of the dustcollector housing 5, along with the associated filters 40. The removablefilter system 201, as seen in FIG. 8, has been translated out of thedust collector housing 5. The method continues by removing a filter 40from the filter support 53 on the filter carriage 50 and placing adifferent clean filter 40. This different filter 40 could be a newfilter, an old filter having been refurbished or cleaned, or even thesame filter that had been removed and has now been cleaned. The nextstep is translating the filter carriage 50 and its associated filters 40back into the housing 5 of the dust collector 100. The method continuesby raising the filter carriage 50 and its associated filters 40 backinto an operational location where the top portions 41 of the filters 40or the seals 44 abut the pipes 45. The access door 55 is then closed andthe dust collector 100 is ready for operation.

In some implementations of the method for replacing the filter 40,additional steps may be taken to limit dust from the filter 40 beingreplaced from falling outside the dust collector 100. As seen in FIG. 9,illustrated in dashed lines, a bag 240 may be connected to the dustcollector 100 before opening the access door 55. Shown here as a cubicshaped bag 240, it is contemplated that the bag 240 could take any shapethat would allow at least one of the removable filter systems 201, 202,203 to be translated out of the dust collector 100, as described above.The bag 240 surrounds the access door 55, as illustrated in FIG. 9, butit is also contemplated that the bag 240 could surround only one or moreof the removable filter systems 201, 202, 203. An access panel (notshown) may also be present in the bag 240, to allow an operator to movein and out of the bag 240.

Another implementation in accordance with the present technology isshown in FIGS. 12A and 12B. A dust collector similar to that illustratedin FIGS. 1 to 6 has pipes 45′ instead of pipes 45 and expandable sleeves47 around the pipes 45′. These expandable sleeves 47 are held onto thepipes 45′ by collars 49 at the top and bottom of the expandable sleeves47. The pipe 45′ has a number of apertures 46 in its sides, shown indashed lines in FIGS. 12A and 12B to indicate that they are underneaththe sleeve 47.

Six apertures 46 in the sides of the pipe 45 are shown, but use of moreor less than six apertures 46 is contemplated, including only oneaperture 46. It is contemplated that the pipes 45 of the dust collector100 could be replaced with the pipes 45′ with the expandable sleeves 47.The pipes 45′ and the expandable sleeves 47 may be used in place of onany number of pipes 45 in the dust collector 100, including all thepipes 45, only the first two rows of pipes 45 or on the first row ofpipes 45.

When air from the air injection system 70 is forced into the pipe 45′,air flows out of the apertures 46 into a space 48 between the sleeve 47and the pipe 45′. The air injected into the space 48 increases the sizeof the space between the sleeve 47 and the pipe 45′, inflating theexpandable sleeve 47. As described above, air laden with dust particlesentering through the inlet 10 of the dust collector 100 would beincident directly on the pipes 45. For a dust collector of thisimplementation, the air and dust would be incident directly on thesleeve 47 and leave a significant deposit of dust caked upon the sleeve47 during operation. Upon inflation of the sleeve 47 during a cleaningcycle of the filters 40, also as described above, the dust caked ontothe sleeve 47 is accelerated outward or broken up to fall down into thedust collection unit 60.

It is contemplated that the expandable sleeves 47 may be made of anynumber of materials, depending on the application and the specificimplementation, as long as the sleeves 47 can resist chemically to theincoming dust and air, and are expandable under air pressure. It iscontemplated that the filters 40 could also be expandable.

A dust collector 300 according to another implementation of the presenttechnology will be described with respect to FIGS. 13 to 15. Elements ofthe dust collector 300 that are the same as the dust collector 100retain the same reference numeral.

The dust collector 300 has an extended duct entrance section 315connected to the housing 5, made up of an inlet 310 and an angled frontwall 361. The inlet 310 has a top surface 321 and a bottom surface 320.The top surface 321 of the duct entrance section 315 is oriented at asimilar angle to that of the separation plate 30. The bottom surface 320smoothly joins the front wall 361, as seen in FIG. 13, where the ductbottom surface 320 is curved.

It is contemplated that the duct entrance section 315 could be ofdifferent forms, depending on the specific implementation. For example,in some implementations, the top surface 321 could be at any range ofangles relative to the separation plate 30, including generallyhorizontal. It is also contemplated that the bottom surface 320 could beangled, rather than curved, to meet the front wall 61 at a corner.

The walls of the extended duct entrance section 315 are lined with aninflatable membrane 325. The inflatable membrane 325 is inflated using acompressed air line extending from the compressed air reservoir 71 inthe air injection system 70. The housing 5 also has four inflatablemembranes 326, one each on the front wall 61, the side walls 62 and theback wall 63. The inflatable membranes 326 are illustrated in FIG. 14 bydashed lines to denote that the inflatable membranes 326 are below theseparating plate 30. It is contemplated that more or fewer inflatablemembranes 326 could be used to cover the interior walls 361, 62 and 63,depending on the specific implementation.

During a cleaning cycle, as described above in relation to FIG. 1 or 12Aand 12B, the dust collector 300 can also utilize the inflatablemembranes 325, 326 to enhance the cleaning process. As described above,during normal operation dust and particles, especially moist particles,may tend to cake on different elements inside the dust collector 300.This will generally include the duct entrance section 315 and on thewalls 361, 62, 63 of the housing 5 of the dust collector 300. Theinflatable membranes 325, 326 that line these surfaces will collect thecaked on particles. Upon inflation of the inflatable membranes 325, 326by the compressed air during a cleaning cycle of the filters 40, also asdescribed above, the dust caked onto the inflatable membranes 325, 326is accelerated outward or broken up to fall down into the dustcollection unit 60.

To better understand the overall air flow path through the dustcollector 300, arrows representing the various possible directions ofair flow are shown schematically in FIG. 15, superimposed on asimplified cross-section of the dust collector 300 of FIG. 13. A bloweror fan (not shown) is operationally connected to the dust collector 300to induce air flow through the apparatus. It may be external to the dustcollector 300, or built into the dust collector 300, depending on theimplementation.

Air laden with dust particles enters the dust collector 300 through theinlet 310 of the extended duct entrance section 315 into the intakechamber 12. As illustrated in FIG. 13, a center line 311 of the inlet310 extends above the top portions 41 of the filters 40, indicating ageneral path the air and dust take entering the intake chamber 12 fromthe inlet 310. As the entrance section 315 is angled similarly to theseparation plate 30, the air and dust is generally directed into theintake chamber 12 at an angle towards the pipes 45 and filters 40, andnot toward the separation plate 30. Some air and dust will encounter thefirst row 33 of pipes 45, directing that air generally downward oraround the first row 33 of pipes 45.

At this point some of the dust may cake onto the surfaces of the pipes45 facing the extended duct entrance section 310. As the filters 40 arearranged such that a top portion 41 of each filter 40 is at or below theextended duct entrance section 310, air and dust from the extended ductentrance section 310 will generally impact the pipes 45 and not directlythe filters 40. While the extended duct entrance section 310 of the dustcollector 300 is larger than the inlet 10 of the dust collector 100described above, the filters 40 are still generally arranged below theentering air and dust.

Some of the air will pass between the pipes 45 of the first row 33,represented by the dotted arrows. Some of this air will impact thesecond row 34 of pipes 45, with some of the dust caking onto the pipes45. Some of the air will be directed downward and some will be directedaround the pipes 45 of the second row 34, toward the third row 35 ofpipes 45.

The staggered rows 33, 34, 35 of pipes 45, the extended duct entrancesection 310 arrangement and the diagonal arrangement of the separatingplate 30 direct the incoming air and dust to be distributed generallythroughout the intake chamber 12. As such, air passing through thefilters 40 in order to exit the intake chamber 12 will be distributedamong all the filters 40 throughout the intake chamber 12. As such,filters 40 connected to the pipes 45 of the first row 33 will notnecessarily filter more air than the filters 40 connected to the pipes45 of the second or third rows 34, 35.

As described above, the air flows generally downward and around thepipes 45 and the filters 40, some dust falling out of the air and falldown into the dust collection unit 60, as represented by the dashedarrows. In order for air to pass from the intake chamber 12 to theexhaust chamber 14, the air and dust particles must pass through one ofthe filters 40 to arrive to the apertures 32 in the separating plate 30.Dust particles, the exact proportion of which depends on the efficacy ofthe filter 40 used, will then be trapped in the filter. Air passingthrough the filters 40 is then referred to as filtered air. Theremaining air flow pattern follows the path described above with respectto FIG. 2.

Modifications and improvements to the above-described implementations ofthe present invention may become apparent to those skilled in the art.The foregoing description is intended to be exemplary rather thanlimiting. The scope of the present invention is therefore intended to belimited solely by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A dust collector comprising: a housing including:an upper wall, at least one housing wall connected to the upper wall,the at least one housing wall defining an inlet, and one of the upperwall and the at least one housing wall defining an outlet; a separatingplate connected to the housing above the inlet and below the outlet, theseparating plate defining at least one aperture; at least one verticallyextending filter connected to and extending below the separating plate,the at least one vertically extending filter fluidly communicating withthe at least one aperture, a center line of the inlet extending above atop portion of the at least one vertically extending filter; at leastone pipe connecting the at least one vertically extending filter to theseparating plate, the at least one pipe extending below the separatingplate; at least one expandable sleeve surrounding the at least one pipe,the at least one pipe defining at least one side aperture fluidlycommunicating an interior of the at least one pipe with a space betweenthe at least one pipe and the at least one expandable sleeve; and an airinjector system fluidly communicating with the at least one aperture forinjecting air into the space through the at least one aperture to expandthe sleeve.
 2. The dust collector of claim 1, wherein the top portion ofthe at least one vertically extending filter is disposed at or below abottom portion of the inlet.
 3. The dust collector of claim 1, furthercomprising at least one sealing ring being disposed between a topportion of the at least one vertically extending filter and a bottomportion of the at least one pipe.
 4. The dust collector of claim 1,wherein a top portion of the at least one pipe passes through the atleast one aperture and extends above the separating plate.
 5. The dustcollector of claim 1, wherein the inlet is arranged substantiallyopposite the outlet.
 6. The dust collector of claim 1, wherein the inletand the outlet are arranged at substantially a same height.
 7. The dustcollector of claim 1, wherein the separating plate is arrangeddiagonally within the housing, the separating plate extending downwardas the separating plate extends away from the inlet.
 8. The dustcollector of claim 1, wherein the at least one housing wall includes: afront wall connected to the upper wall, the front wall defining theinlet; a back wall connected to the upper wall and being opposite thefront wall, the back wall defining the outlet; and two side wallsconnected to and extending between the front wall and the back wall, theside walls being connected to the upper wall.
 9. The dust collector ofclaim 1, wherein the air injection system includes: at least one airinjection nozzle being aligned with the at least one aperture, the atleast one air nozzle being adapted for supplying compressed air insidethe at least one vertically extending filter via the at least oneaperture; and a compressed air reservoir for delivering air to the atleast one air injection nozzle.
 10. The dust collector of claim 1,further comprising: a dust collection unit connected to a bottom portionof the at least one housing wall; and a dust collection unit opening ina lower portion of the dust collection unit.
 11. The dust collector ofclaim 10, wherein: air laden with dust particles enters via the inlet;the air laden with dust particles flows generally vertically downwardfrom the inlet; the air passes through the at least one verticallyextending filter and then through the at least one aperture in theseparating plate; the dust particles gather on the at least onevertically extending filter or fall into the dust collection unitconnected to the bottom portion of the at least one housing wall; andfrom the at least one aperture, the air exits the housing of the dustcollector via the outlet.
 12. The dust collector of claim 1, wherein theat least one aperture includes: a first row of first apertures, a secondrow of second apertures, and the first row and the second row aresubstantially parallel, the first apertures are staggered with respectto the second apertures; and wherein the at least one verticallyextending filter is a plurality of vertically extending filters, each ofthe plurality of filters fluidly communicates with a corresponding oneof the first and second apertures.